On November 14, 1965, during the fierce Battle of Ia Drang, the first major clash between U.S. forces and North Vietnamese troops, Major Bruce Crandall, flight commander with Company A, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, became a lifeline for the surrounded infantry at Landing Zone X-Ray.

Commanding a group of sixteen helicopters, Crandall led the initial troop insertions under increasing enemy fire. By the fifth lift, the landing zone was a deadly kill zone, and half the helicopters were ordered to abort. But when Crandall realized the troops on the ground were running low on ammunition and unable to evacuate their wounded, he made a bold decision.

Shifting his operations to a forward artillery base to cut down response time, Crandall personally led multiple unarmed helicopters into the hot zone, defying intense enemy fire with every landing. Over the next 14 hours, he completed 22 missions resupplying ammunition and airlifting the wounded, refusing to quit until every soldier had what they needed.

His heroic actions turned the tide of the battle and saved countless lives. In 2007, Bruce Crandall’s Distinguished Service Cross was upgraded to the Medal of Honor.

Medal of Honor Citation:
Major Bruce Crandall distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism as a Flight Commander in the Republic of Vietnam while serving with Company A, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). On 14 November 1965, his flight of sixteen helicopters was lifting troops for a search and destroy mission from Plei Me, Vietnam, to Landing Zone X-Ray in the Ia Drang Valley. On the fourth troop lift, the enemy had Landing Zone X-Ray targeted. As Major Crandall and the first eight helicopters landed to discharge troops on his fifth troop lift, his unarmed helicopter came under such intense enemy fire that the ground commander ordered the second flight of eight aircraft to abort their mission. As Major Crandall flew back to Plei Me, his base of operations, he determined that the ground commander of the besieged infantry battalion desperately needed more ammunition. Major Crandall then decided to adjust his base of operations to Artillery Firebase Falcon in order to shorten the flight distance to deliver ammunition and evacuate wounded soldiers. While medical evacuation was not his mission, he immediately sought volunteers and with complete disregard for his own personal safety, led the two aircraft to Landing Zone X-Ray. Despite the fact that the landing zone was still under relentless enemy fire, Major Crandall landed and proceeded to supervise the loading of seriously wounded soldiers aboard the aircraft. Major Crandall’s voluntary decision to land under the most extreme fire instilled in the other pilots the will and spirit to continue to land their own aircraft, and in the ground forces the realization that they would be resupplied and that friendly wounded would be promptly evacuated. This greatly enhanced morale and the will to fight at a critical time. After his first medical evacuation, Major Crandall continued to fly into and out of the landing zone throughout the day and into the evening. That day he completed a total of 22 flights, most under intense enemy fire, retiring from the battlefield only after all possible service had been rendered to the Infantry battalion. His actions provided critical resupply of ammunition and evacuation of the wounded. Major Crandall’s daring acts of bravery and courage in the face of an overwhelming and determined enemy are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army.

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